Falling
by Fletset
Summary: A retelling of episode 365 363 in the US, or AG89 through Brock's eyes: Pikachu, Joining Team Rocket! contains spoilers...


**Disclaimer: **Pokemon is not mine. If it were, I would have made Ash suffer more in this episode :)

**Author's Notes: **This fanfic is retelling the events in episodes 365 in Japan (363 in the US): or AG89:"Pikachu, Joining Team Rocket?!"

This episode was only aired in Japan for now, so this fanfic contains spoilers. If you don't want to know what happens, then click the "Back" button now, or I won't be responsible for the consequences :P

Now, I added various stuff that weren't in the actual episode, but they come mostly in the beginning to towards the end of the story :)

One last thing- I used the summary from for this, and my own understanding of the episode when watching it, so maybe some things they say in this fic aren't… correct, and although this is from Brock's POV, I didn't include some of the stuff he said, because, simply, my Japanese isn't that good, and I don't want to mislead you too much .

Sorry for grammar or spelling mistakes. English is not my mother-tongue.

Enjoy!

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**Falling**

****

_Brock's POV_

"Ow!" Ash drew his arm away from my grip and shook it, trying to drive the sudden pain away. "Do it gently!" he hissed.

I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," I said and took his wounded arm again, continuing to bandage it. "You sure got it bad this time…" I said quietly.

"You'll remove it by morning, right?" Ash asked, and I could sense worry in his voice.

I sighed heavily, wondering why Ash hated so much to be seen bandaged up in public. "Yes, Ash I will," I said.

He smiled at me, but then his face twitched and his arm jerked a bit, as I apparently hurt him again, but he did not say anything this time. I patted his arm gently when I finished and stood up. "Well, that's it," I said, and Ash stared at his arm to examine my work, as if even if it were bad he'd notice it. "Now go back to sleep- I don't want you complaining when I wake you up early," I said.

He nodded. "Yeah, yeah," he said and stood up as well. "I know the drill…"

I frowned. "You know," I started. "You could sleep more if you would have agreed to walk around bandaged up."

He shook his head and turned his gaze to the ground. "I can't. I can't let them see me like this, or else they'd think I'm damaging myself too much and they would tell me to stop," he said. "Besides, this way I can tell them those are just scratches, not deep wounds and cuts…"

"But you _are_ damaging yourself!" I argued back, speaking louder, which upset him and he put his finger on his lips to motion for me to be quiet. "You can't keep doing things so recklessly, Ash! You're hurting yourself… I'm doing what I can, but I'm no doctor! It's possible you already are developing some permanent damage! And removing those bandages all the time isn't doing you any good, either!"

"Well, I can't let them just have my Pokemon, can I?" he hissed angrily. "And if I won't do it, no one else would…" he added quietly.

I decided to keep silent after he said that, and just told him to go to bed so his wounds could heal faster. He nodded and did as I said, while I put the bandages back in the first-aid-kit.

I really have no idea what this boy would have done without me. The way he always jumps into things without thinking and getting hurt… no one notices it- they all think he's okay after those stunts, because he does a damn good job about hiding his pain.

In fact, I only found about it by mistake. Since I'm usually then one to wake everyone up, sometime during our journey through Kanto I shook Ash gently by his shoulder early in the morning, and he suddenly jerked up and held his shoulder, moaning quietly in pain. I had no idea he was hurt so badly after we fell into this pit Team Rocket dug. He insisted he was alright after we climbed out, although I put some band-aids on me and Misty.

Since then, me and Ash have this agreement. I would bandage him up at night, then wake him up early so I could remove the bandages, and then put them on again the following night, depends on the wound.

Tonight I'm glad that he wears a shirt. That wound on his upper-back is pretty serious, I'm glad I don't have to remove the bandage until it heals completely, unlike the one on his arm.

Actually, I wonder how he even survived this fall at all…

_-Earlier that day- _

The day started out as any other day. May commented at how cheerful and energetic Pikachu looks today, and Ash agreed, smiling as he watched his first Pokemon leading our group. Suddenly the earth shook, and a tree fell towards where Pikachu was standing. Ash warned him, and I wondered why he doesn't jump himself to protect the Pokemon.

"Pikachu, where are you?" he called, sounding a bit panicky, when we all heard a familiar laugh. Team Rocket had a new Robot which got Pikachu, and they started saying their useless, boring motto again. Ash demanded his Pokemon back and, of course, Team Rocket refused to return it to him. Ash commanded a thunderbolt, which, of course, proved to be futile against the robot, yet I still acted surprised. One can always hope, right? Apparently, their new machine is made out of recycled plastic this time…

Ash's face twitched in anger, and he ran forward, declaring he would get Pikachu back. We all followed, and soon found ourselves at the bottom of a newly-dug-typical-Team-Rocket-pit.

As we struggled with ourselves in an attempt to find some space to stand in the narrow pit, we could hear Team Rocket yelling about something, and I couldn't help but wonder why hadn't they ran away already.

Suddenly, we heard a loud blasting noise, and the next thing we knew we were soaring in the air. Vaguely I heard Ash calling for Pikachu, and before passing out I wondered whether he caught him or not…

When I woke up I found myself deep in the woods. Ash, May and Max were next to me, and they all seemed fine, yet knocked out.

One more thing- we were all stuck on branches…

Ash woke up, and asked if we were alright. I woke up from my trance, and told him I was fine.

"Where are we?" I heard Max ask when he opened his eyes, and May wondered if we blasted off as well (A/N: not sure about this line, but I'm guessing that it's what she said :X).

Suddenly, Ash's eyes widened. "Where's Pikachu?" he asked, sounding somewhat panicked. "Pikachu! Pikachu!!" he called, hoping he would respond. "I must look for him! I must look for Pikachu!" he screamed and his attempts to get off of the branch proved to be futile, as he grunted and struggled to get off.

When we finally got off from those trees, Ash wasted no time in releasing his Swellow and asking him to look for Pikachu. I also ask my Mudkip to do the same. "Pikachu… please be okay," I heard Ash say quietly.

As we're walking down the path, Ash keeps on calling for his Pikachu, and once Max also added "Pikachu! Where are you?" of his own. But I don't think Ash hears him. I don't think Ash acknowledges any of us… all that matters to him now is Pikachu.

"Pikachu! Answer me!" he tries again. Suddenly Mudkip senses something, and we follow him to a place where there are footprints.

"Those are Pikachu's footprints!" Ash declares.

"There are more here!" Max says, and I recognize the second kind of footprints as Zigzaggon's.

"Those are…" May says, regarding the third set of footprints.

"Meowth!" Me, Ash and Max exclaim together. That's when I became worried.

As we keep on walking, Mudkip notices more footprints. This time it's only Pikachu and Meowth's.

"Something's strange…" Max says.

"Sure is," I agree. "Wherever Pikachu's footprints are, so are Meowth's." (A/N: again, he said something somewhat different, I think along the lines of: where Pikachu is, Meowth follows" or something like that, so I'm not sure about it…)

"Pikachu… something happened…" Ash says quietly. He seemed out of it all day, and I'm sure he's worried. I rarely see Ash acting like this, and it makes me feel uneasy.

As we continue walking, Mudkip senses something, and Swellow returns from the direction my Pokemon pointed at. Swellow explains something, and May says he points towards where Mudkip pointed.

"Which means Pikachu is that way!" Ash declares, and I'm somewhat glad to see him back to himself, although he still seems worried. We start to run in that direction, and after awhile, we hear talking.

"Pikachu!" Ash calls as we come into a clearing and he notices his missing Pokemon. Pikachu turns around, and looks at us questioningly. Something's wrong… usually he'd be happy to see Ash again.

"The Twerps!" Team Rocket call back, sounding surprised.

"Team Rocket!" Max shouts angrily.

"Pikachu, I was worried!" Ash says, sounding relieved and somewhat nervous. Pikachu still seems uncertain.

"Pikachu!" Mewoth shouts. "Your friends are us! He is the enemy!" (A/N: this is what I've got from what he said… I do believe there was something else to the "he is the enemy" thing.). Pikachu seems surprised to hear that, and I'm surprised that he seemed to believe Meowth…

Something is wrong indeed.

"What are you talking about?!" Ash asks angrily. Then he becomes the gentle Ash we know again and says quietly, "Now come, Pikachu." He smiles somewhat awkwardly as he says that. Pikachu seems helpless, as if… not knowing who to choose?

"Don't be fooled!" Meowth screams, and suddenly Pikachu seems to regain he senses but then… he turns around to join Team Rocket.

Ash gasps. "Pikachu…" he whispers, and it sounds like he chokes on something. Could it be that he was so shocked he found it hard to breathe?

"Can't be…" May says quietly.

"What in the world…?" I add. I rack my mind in trying to think what caused this change of heart.

"Pikachu… what happened?" Ash asks quietly as he slowly advances towards them. Then Jessie starts the Team-Rocket-Motto, and although we're so used to their meaningless words, this time they seem serious, almost…

Threatening…

As if…

They won?

And after Meowth's line, we are all surprised to see Pikachu joining in after him, glaring at us.

"Pi-Pikachu…" Ash stutters, speechless. I can fully understand why.

"This is great!" Jessie exclaims happily.

"This is the kind of feeling we want!" James adds. (A/N: in the Japanese version, TR say: "Yada Kanji" when they blast off, which literally is… a "bad feeling" or "not the feeling we want" (I think ;). So this is what James refers to here).

"Now our Team is completed!" Mewoth finishes. (A/N: again, I'm not sure about this line).

Although we only see Ash's back, I can see that his shoulders are slumped, and he seems helpless. I'd really hate to see his face now…

"Pikachu… really joined Team Rocket…" Max says, disbelieving.

"Pikachu," Ash advances again. "Those are our enemies! Have you forgotten?" he really sounds desperate, the kid…

Pikachu glares and turns his head to the side angrily, as Jessie laughs from behind him, and declares they'd pay Ash back (A/N: not sure again), and James commands a Thunderbolt.

Surprisingly (or not), Pikachu listens and shocks Ash, sending him flying backwards. "Ash!" we all cry in worry.

Team Rocket seems happy it worked. After all those times Ash commanded Pikachu to shock them, they finally return the favor.

"What happened, Pikachu? Have you forgotten about me?" Ash asks sadly, and then Mewoth commands a Thunderbolt, and Pikachu sends Ash flying backwards once again.

"Ash!" Max screams, panicked.

I think I see May cover her eyes…"Pikachu, stop it!" she screams, and I wonder what is it that she didn't want to see.

Ash seems desperate, May is panicked and Max is confused…

I haven't had this feeling of helplessness in a long, long time…

"Pikachu… it's me…" Ash says again, sounding tired, as if all energy he had had is gone. Pikachu gets ready for another attack in reply.

"That's it!" I say as I finally have the answer, and May and Max look at me hopefully. I explain that Pikachu must have been hurt from one of those flying rocks in the explosion earlier.

"What?" Ash asks wearily as he gets up, and I say that now he probably doesn't remember anything.

Jessie smirks. "What is this talk about explosion?" she asks.

"Pikachu was our friend from the start," James adds cockily.

"Don't let them fool you!" Meowth says, and Pikachu nods.

"Pikachu, I beg you! Remember!" Ash said, and he indeed sounded begging. He rarely uses this tone of speech. Pikachu powers up to attack him once again.

Team Rocket laughs, say they've brainwashed him (according to . ), and run away.

Those bastards…

"W-wait!" Ash calls and runs after them, but then the cabin they hid in explodes, and their balloon appears.

"Bye bye" Jessie waves.

"You think I'd let you?!" Ash screams and jumps, getting a hold of the green basket. I'm always surprised at how strong and skillful this kid is. "Pikachu, I'm coming!" he shouts, and Team Rocket gets angry.

"Ash!" May calls, and we all run after them.

"Don't come any closer!" I hear Jessie shout, and then I hear Ash's voice, but I can't get what he says. They're too high now… I do see he climbed over the basket and now peeks into the balloon. Someone commanded a thunderbolt, and the balloon explodes. I notice Team Rocket blasting off again. I'm not worried- nothing ever happens to them.

On the other hand, where's Ash…?

Then we see him, falling, holding Pikachu close.

"Ash!" May screams as we run, and Max calls out for Pikachu. I'm too worried to shout, Ash fell from a great height!

And I hear him scream…

"We can't go from here, there's a cliff! We have to find another way!" I scream at May and Max, and I lead our run. I never knew I could run so fast… but Ash is in danger, I have a feeling he might not survive this time.

I was relieved to find a river, and assumed Ash fell into it.

But even water can hurt.

As we keep on running, we finally notice Ash's form on the bank. He's not awake yet. I run faster.

Pikachu also approaches him, and I guess that Ash fainted in the water, and let Pikachu go. Pikachu ended up not too far from him, and now tries to wake him up. Then Ash gets up, and says something to Pikachu. Then Pikachu jumps into Ash's arms, and Ash hugs him tightly.

"Ash!" we call as we finally get closer, and he stands up.

"Hey guys!" he says with a smile. I search for bruises, but find none on the surface… for now.

I know he'd need a serious patch-up later.

"Pikachu is okay!" Max half asks-half says, and May seems relieved. I also voice my relief. Then Team Rocket lands into the scene, and I wonder how nothing happened when they landed in the shallow water.

Well, I need to worry about Ash- not them.

They act as if Pikachu still has amnesia, and James innocently say they found their friend Pikachu again. Ash commands a thunderbolt, and I wonder why only that satisfied him.

I know I'd be angrier than a thunderbolt… after what they did…

But Team Rocket would always be Team Rocket.

A couple of hours later we continue to walk towards the next city, happy that Pikachu returned to his former self. I especially feel glad for Ash. But as I glance at him, I know that I'm the only one who notices him limping, who notices his face twitch in pain now and then, who notices those begging eyes when he looks at me, begging silently for me to stop and set a camp, so I could take care of his wounds.

So I do just what his eyes ask me to do.

_-Back to the present-_

As I enter the campsite again, I watch as Ash covers himself in his sleeping bag, and then moves his arm so he can hold Pikachu close, and I can't help but let a small smile creep to my face at this scene.

I'm really glad this ordeal is over, and then I realize how close Pikachu and Ash are.

Because I knew that if it were one of his other Pokemon, Ash would never look as detested as he looked earlier today. I glance at his form one last time, and I see he still feels pain.

But this is all I can do for him, and it depresses me somewhat.

"Hey, Brock?" I hear him whisper as I'm getting ready to sleep.

"Yeah?" I ask softly.

"Thanks," he says and yawns. "I never knew falling into a river could hurt so bad…"

"Water are one of men's worst enemies," I reply with a smile, and he nods.

"And thank you for taking care of me and keeping it a secret," he adds and I tell him not to worry about it. That's what friends are for, right?

And as I lay in my own sleeping-bag and look at the stars above, I wonder how long it'll be until the day comes, and I just won't be able to take care of Ash anymore.

Recklessness is an enemy, too, and no one knows better than Ash that the day would come and he might have to pay for it.

Scars can not be hidden for long….

**The End**

**Author's Notes: **yeah, I know you've had enough of me… just wanted to say that I'm quite impressed at my level of understanding the episode without the summary! :D

Again, I may have got some stuff they said wrong… gomen ne

_-E2K_


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